April 7

Restored by the Grace of God: Fr. Mesrop’s Easter Message

In his Easter message, Diocesan Primate Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan looks at a world in desperate need of restoration, and asks: “What power is great enough to make us what we were meant to be?”

The answer, he explains, lies in the miracle of Easter Sunday: the evidence of the empty tomb, which proclaims that Christ conquered the trials of humankind—including death itself.

Fr. Mesrop writes: “In Jesus Christ, God took upon Himself the broken human condition—and restored it to what it was meant to be: made it new again. He brought nourishment to the hungry; healing to the sick; consolation to the grieving. To the confused, he offered an example of upright, godly behavior. To the sinful, he offered forgiveness. Finally, to the dead—the dead in body as well as the dead in spirit—Christ offered Life.”

“But these blessings came at great cost. Christ struggled and endured great suffering on our behalf. His final battle was waged on the cross—and for a time, it looked like death had won. But on Easter Sunday, Christ was raised from the dead. And through his victory, we were saved.”

Click here to read the Primate’s Easter message, in English and Armenian. And throughout the coming days, please share the message of Easter with your loved ones: Krisdos haryav ee merelots!

Holy Week and Easter Schedule

The coming Holy Week will proceed at St. Mary Church both in-person worship as well as online broadcasts of the various services via the St. Mary YouTube Channel.

Click here to see a detailed flyer of the Holy Week services in Armenian and English.

Friday, April 7 - GREAT AND HOLY FRIDAY: The Crucifixion and Burial of Christ will be marked with two services:

• The Order of the Crucifixion of Christ 12:30 PM 
• Order of the Entombment of the Lord 7:00 PM

Saturday, April 8 - GREAT AND HOLY SATURDAY: The Evening Service and Scripture-reading by Shnorhali School students will begin at 6:00 PM, followed by the Jrakalouyts (“Lamp-Lighting”) service at 7:00 PM

Sunday, April 9 - EASTER SUNDAY: The central holy day of the Christian calendar, commemorating the discovery of Christ’s empty tomb and the news of His Resurrection. 

• Morning Service 9:30 AM
• Holy Badarak 10:30 AM
• Antasdan Service 12:00 Noon

CHRIST IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD 

BLESSED IS THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

St. Mary Parish Council and Der Hayr would like to thank all those who contributed towards the Easter Lilies and Yughakin Donations, supporting our church during this difficult time.

We also express our gratitude to Hermine Khatchatoorian for donating the Palm leaves, Sara Arabian for making the crosses, and Anna Seferian for donating altar flowers on Palm Sunday. 

To see the list of donors, click here.

April 9, 2023

Morning Service 

10:00 AM

Holy Badarak 

10:30 AM

Celebrant

H. E. Abp. Vicken Aykazian

Usher

All Ushers

Parish Council Members on Duty

All Parish Council Officers

Choir

Mrs.Edita Kalayjian

Organist

Mrs. Karine Muradyan

Bible Readings: 

Acts 1:15-26

Mark 16:2-8

To request a Hokehankist/Requiem Service 

Please contact the Church Office

by 12:00 Noon on Thursday

202-363-1923

or Click here to see the form

Prayer of the Week

We rejoice for the Good News of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has been the fruit and the first born of all that have fallen asleep. He has destroyed the gates of hell, and loosed the tyranny of death; and he gave us the firm hope of the renewal of life for all men.

    In faith let us ask of our Savior Jesus Christ that he may please to make us worthy of his resurrection, and to transform our lowly body into the likeness of his glorious Body. For the very God, Jesus Christ our Lord, has promised to grant this great and ineffable gift to them that love him. Amen.

Easter Eve with Shnorhali School

Shnorhali School has planned a Fun Event to celebrate Easter with our students on April 8th from 5-7 pm (with Holy Patarag to follow from 7-8pm).

During the event we will have a small presentation about Easter, discuss Easter tradition and stories, and dispelling Easter myths. We will talk about Easter eggs, egg hunts, Easter Bunny, etc., after which, students will decorate Easter eggs. This is a great opportunity for team building and making new friends. 

After a light dinner students and parents will be invited to participate in the Holy Patarag and read Bible passages with our Pastor.

Participation in this sacred and fun event is a great opportunity for our students to learn about the significance of our holy traditions and strengthen connection with our Church, culture, and heritage. We highly encourage parents to join and support our fun and educational evening.

 ACYOA Youth Palm Sunday Banquet

On Palm Sunday, April 2nd, the ACYOA Seniors and Juniors sponsored the annual Youth Sunday banquet. More than 60 parishioners gathered to share a meal, hear about the ACYOA, listen to some beautiful piano music by Andre Alexandrian, see a Juniors slide show prepared by Hovsep Seferian, and honor the recipient of the ACYOA Award for service to the youth, Yn Anahid Kalayjian. Mariam McClure served as the Mistress of Ceremonies, and the other youth speakers included Alex Madajian, Mariam Karapetyan, and Aren Avetisyan. Dr. Zaven Kalayjian gave a lovely tribute to his mother, and Yn Anahid exhorted us all to love others with our deeds, not just with our words. 

Many thanks to Der Hovsep, Yn Jennifer, the young people, and Junior's moms for making this event a success. A special thanks go out to Jerman Hallajian, whose expertise in the kitchen was invaluable.

There is a wonderful opportunities for our children to participate in Armenian camps and conferences this summer. St. Vartan Camp and St. Nersess Summer Conferences and trainnigs are now oper for registration. If your child is interested please contact the the church office at stmarychurchdc@gmail.com and provide your name, contact information (phone and email) and your student’s name/age. Put "St Vartan Camp," or "St. Nersess" in the subject line.  An interest meeting will be arranged, where parents/students can ask questions and arrange carpools.

This year, through generous donations made to a number of memorial funds, St. Mary will be able to offer a discount for each camper.   

Special Gift for St. Mary Gift Shop

St. Mary gift shop is offering limited numbers of imported bottles of medieval Armenian health elixirs formulated from ancient manuscripts deciphered at the Matendaran Museum of Ancient Armenian Manuscripts. These elixirs are made in Armenia by Armen Sahakyan, a pharmacologist and botanical scholar who has been working at the Matenadaran Museum for the last several decades. A trained medical doctor ordained a deacon in 1997, Sahakyan has dedicated his life to the maintenance of Armenia’s sacred botanical traditions.

The three different batches available at our gift shop (Royal Elixir, Arates Elixir and Arates Tonic) are made from a codified recipe of medieval Armenian medicine, using a special distillation process. They contain medicinal and aromatic plants, known for their healing properties. Through the distillation and aging process alcohol is created, so think of them as perhaps Armenia’s first (healthy) cognac! 

The supplies are limited and each bottle is numbered, including the batch and year of production. All of the bottles were donated to St Mary Church, so 100% of the proceeds will go to the St Mary Endowment Fund, with a portion also going to support Armenian clergy serving in Artsakh.

"Embrace the Future" Endowment Fund

Dear Parishioners and Friends, 

This year we celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the St. Mary Community and Church with the launch of the new "Embrace the Future" Endowment Fund to help ensure our church has the resources needed to continue serving our beloved community.  

Just as you plan for your future and that of your family, please join us in planning for the future of St. Mary Church. 

We are asking for your support so that St. Mary will be able to continue to fulfill her mission for future generations.  

The link below lists various opportunities for you to make a meaningful gift of lasting significance that will help support our church's long-term security, visibility, and vitality. Please consider making either a one-time gift or pledge, which would allow you to make payments over a five-year period.

Join St. Mary's Prayer Group

We are initiating a new form of ministry at St. Mary Armenian Church. For parishioners who would like to make an electronic prayer request, they can do so by Clicking Here.

A group of volunteers will receive the request and pray at their earliest convenience. Additionally, a new physical prayer request box will be placed at the entrance of St. Mary Armenian Church with blank forms that anyone can fill out and drop in the box. These requests will be retrieved weekly and delivered to the members of the volunteer prayer group. If you would like to become one of the volunteers of the Prayer Group please email us. 

Please click on the link below to present your request. 

Armenian Speaking Caregivers Available

For information please contact the church office at 202-363-1923 or  stmarychurchdc@gmail.com

Part-time help needed

Rockville Town Center (a few minutes walk from the Rockville Metro stop on the Red Line), for details, contact Lilit at "Saints Valley" Boutique:   https://www.instagram.com/saintsvalley/?hl=en

Buy a Brick and Leave Your Legacy at

St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church

Bricks can be ordered and purchased by clicking below and

filling out a simple online order form.

You can choose to have a 4" x 8" brick

which includes your preselected

3 lines of 20 characters per line of text.

Or you can choose to have the

Armenian Cross artwork on the 4" x 8" brick

which includes your preselected

3 lines of 15 characters per line of text.

Order Today While Quantities Last!

Payment can be made with PayPal or a Credit Card.

Legacy Brick Donations are Tax Deductible.

The Annunciation: “With God, Nothing is Impossible”

On Friday, April 7, the Armenian Church will celebrate the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. This year, the church’s fixed date for this feast day coincides with Holy Friday—so in accordance with the rubrics governing Holy Week services, the Divine Liturgy will not be celebrated on Annunciation Day, although the hymn to the Holy Virgin Mary will be sung as part of the day’s ceremonies.

The Annunciation is one of five feasts devoted to the blessed mother of Jesus Christ. It concerns the defining event of Mary’s life: her realization that she had been chosen by God to be the mother of His Son.

The announcement came by way of the angel Gabriel, and it troubled Mary at first. But Gabriel tried to allay her fears: “Behold!” he told her. “You shall conceive and bring forth a son, and call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and be called the Son of the Highest … and of his kingdom, there shall be no end.”

In her youthful sweetness and innocence, Mary asked the angel how this could ever come to pass. Gabriel’s reply—“With God, nothing shall be impossible”—is one of our greatest expressions of Christian hope.

And Mary’s reply is equally wonderful, as an example for all people who sense God’s hand in their lives: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be unto me according to thy word.”

Nine months later, her son was born—and with him, the hope of the world’s redemption. It is worth noting that the Armenian Church’s fixed date for the Annunciation, April 7, comes exactly nine months before the Armenian Church’s fixed date for the celebration of Christmas, January 6.

The entire touching story is told in Luke 1:26-38. Click the link to read more about St. Mary.

Above: Detail from “The Annunciation,” from a 13th-century Armenian Gospel, painted in the style of Toros Roslin.

Holy Week and Easter: In-Person and Online, April 6-9

St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral will be open to the public for all the services of Holy Week, culminating in the celebration of Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023.

At the cathedral and throughout the parishes of the Eastern Diocese, services will go forward under observance of local health regulations, with provisions being made for both in-person worship as well as online broadcasts of the services.

Diocesan Primate Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan will celebrate the Easter Sunday liturgy for the first time as Primate, and deliver the homily at the cathedral on Sunday, April 9.

Plans call for the cathedral’s Easter service to conclude in the “Release of Doves” ceremony on the plaza, resuming a longstanding Easter tradition after its suspension during the pandemic years.

The cathedral’s Easter service will be broadcast live on the Eastern Diocese’s YouTube platform (and also shared on the Diocese’s Facebook page). Click here to access the Diocese’s YouTube page.

Other services will be broadcast live over the St. Vartan Cathedral Facebook page. The schedule of services is as follows:

• April 6: Holy Thursday “Washing of Feet” service, 6:30 p.m. / Khavaroom service, 8 p.m.
• April 7: Holy Friday Crucifixion service, 12 noon / Burial Service, 6 p.m.
• April 8: Holy Saturday Scripture Reading and Jrakalouyts service, 6:30 p.m.
• April 9: Easter Sunday Badarak, 10 a.m.

Click here for additional information. Parishes around the Eastern Diocese have their own service schedules; consult your local parish for details.

Catholicos Karekin II Blesses Children on Palm Sunday

His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, presided over the celebration of Palm Sunday on April 2, at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

The feast has long been marked, by Catholicos Karekin’s decree, as an occasion for a ceremonial “Blessing of Children,” and His Holiness presided over that ceremony in the courtyard of the St. Gayane Monastery, following a traditional antasdan (field-blessing) service. He bestowed palm and willow branches on the large crowd of children gathered in prayer.

With the Mother Cathedral still in the closing phase of a major restoration, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the chapel of St. Gayane Monastery, with members of the Holy Etchmiadzin monastic brotherhood participating.

Bishop Artak Tigranyan, dean of Monasteries at the Mother See, was the celebrant of the Divine Liturgy. In his Palm Sunday homily, he looked back on the just-completed Lenten season as an opportunity for believers to examine their hearts and approach Holy Week with spiritual and moral clarity. “Do not to be like the people in Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday,” he said, “who at first spread their cloaks and branches before the Lord, but mere days later called to crucify him. Instead, our responsibility is to examine our hearts, and take up Christ’s cross on the road to Golgotha.”

Click here to view photos.

Helping the Homeland Through Mathematics

In one of its latest initiatives, the Fund for Armenian Relief is sponsoring university students in Armenia pursuing degrees in high-level Mathematics. The sponsorship has been made possible by FAR’s Yervant Terzian Armenian National Science and Education Fund (ANSEF) and the Armenian Society of Fellows (ASOF).

The program was launched to encourage undergraduates to pursue studies that challenge their math abilities, and will prepare them for post-graduate work and a variety of careers. 

Four promising math students—Hayk Karapetyan, Vahagn Hovhannisyan, Vahram Asatryan, and Erik Babasyan—have received “Fellowships of Encouragement” to participate in the program. All are in their second semester of the program, receiving online instruction through the Honors Program of the University of California Irvine. Courses are led by Armenian-American professors in the U.S. who wanted to help their countrymen following the Artsakh war of 2020. Teaching assistants based in Armenia guide participants with their coursework, and help them prepare for exams.

“This is one of the rare courses that I find challenging and very exciting,” said Erik Babasyan, a freshman at Yerevan State University. Math, he said, has changed his life, making him more disciplined, logical, and analytical. “Mathematics sharpens your mind, and urges you to find new values in life and community.”

Aram Budaghyan, 22, is one of the teaching assistants. He says UC Irvine’s program lets students dig deeper into the subjects like algebra, geometry, and probability.

“We had around 50 applicants at first, but very few people could finish the first phase and pass the exams successfully,” he said. “Young talents here are often reluctant to use their abilities effectively, to fully pursue their intellectual potential. This FAR program gives them the opportunity to do that.”

Read more on FAR’s blog.

FAR is Hiring a Development Director

The Fund for Armenian Relief is searching for a “Director of Institutional Marketing and Development.” The position will be responsible for the overall strategic development and management of the set of communications that FAR deploys to reach its audience.

The Development Director is expected to contribute to strengthening FAR’s image in the market and to further developing trust among the diaspora and make it the foundation of choice for individuals to consider when planning their charitable giving efforts. This position will report to Garnik Nanagoulian, Executive Director.

For complete information, click here.

April 8 Easter Eve with Shnorhali School @ 5 pm

April 9 Easter Sunday, W.G. Easter Bake Sale after Badarak

April 24 Feast of the Holy Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide

May 18 Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ

May 19, 20,21 Spring Food Festival

May 28 W.G.Hampartzoom program and lunch

ST. MARY ARMENIAN CHURCH WED EDUCATIONAL

FUND SCHOLARSHIP

Application for WED Educational Fund Scholarship is now available at St. Mary's website www.stmaryaac.org. The application deadline for the 2023-2024 academic year is

May 31, 2023.

Click here to access the scholarship application. If you have questions, contact the St. Mary Church office at stmarychurchdc@gmail.com

Եւ կիրակի օրը, առաւօտեան, արեւածագին եկան գերեզման: Եւ ասում էին միմեանց. «Քարը գերեզմանի դռնից մեզ համար ո՞վ պիտի գլորի»: Եւ նայեցին ու տեսան, որ գերեզմանից քարը գլորուած էր. եւ այն շատ մեծ էր: Եւ ներս, գերեզման մտնելով՝ տեսան մի երիտասարդի, որ նստած էր աջ կողմը՝ սպիտակ պատմուճան հագած. եւ զարհուրեցին: Եւ նա ասաց նրանց. «Մի՛ վախեցէք, դուք Յիսուսին էք փնտրում՝ խաչուած Նազովրեցուն. նա յարութիւն առաւ, այստեղ չէ: Ահաւասիկ այն տեղը, ուր նրան դրել էին: Բայց գնացէք ասացէ՛ք նրա աշակերտներին եւ Պետրոսին, թէ՝ ահա նա ձեզնից առաջ գնում է Գալիլիա. այնտե՛ղ կը տեսնէք նրան, ինչպէս ձեզ ասել էր»: Եւ երբ այս լսեցին, ելան ու փախան գերեզմանից, քանի որ սարսափահար էին եղել. եւ ոչ ոքի բան չասացին, որովհետեւ վախենում էին: Մարկոս 16:2-8

And very early on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?" And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; --it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you." And they went out and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Mark 16:2-8